Ordered zinc-vacancy induced Zn0.75Ox nanophase structure

Using transmission electron microscopy, a new nano-phase structure of Zn_0.75O_x induced by Zn-vacancy has been discovered to grow on wurtzite ZnO nanobelts. The superstructure grows epitaxial from the surface of the wurtzite ZnO nanobelts and can be fitted as an orthorhombic structure, with lattice parameters a′=2a, and c′=c, where a and c are the lattice parameters of ZnO. The superstructured phase is resulted from high-density Zn vacancies orderly distributed in the ZnO matrix. This study provides direct observation about the existence of Zn-vacancies in ZnO.